It's well-documented that YouTube has had a profit problem (although the company says they're just fine). In order to generate more revenue, YouTube has experimented with multiple advertising formats (i.e. brand sponsors and user-generated hompage ads).
However, there is one place where YouTube has been drawing the line: third-party ads. In May, YouTube put a halt to brand placement advertising in YouTube videos, as they were advertisements that didn't bring YouTube any revenue. The company promised, however, to launch their own process for integrating ads and brand placement within videos. It looks like today, YouTube delivered. Sort of.
The company has announced a beta trial test with FreeWheel, a company that specializes in online video advertising. According to YouTube, this "will allow some partners who sell their own ads to serve those ads directly into their videos on YouTube." Previously, these ads would have to be served by YouTube.